A. Bai Yueguang Said Nothing And Just Cried For The Substitute B. Chapter 2
byChapter 2 Finding a Way Out
Wēn Sòng and Zhào Míngzhuó took the elevator down to the first floor.
The rain outside was intensifying, showing no sign of stopping. Raindrops formed continuous lines, streaming down the slope of the bluestone pavement and pooling in low-lying areas.
Wēn Sòng turned his head and asked, “Aren’t we going to the parking lot?”
Zhào Míngzhuó was replying to a message. Hearing the question, he put away his phone and said, “I didn’t drive. I hitched a ride with Duàn Zé.”
Wēn Sòng rarely attended gatherings like this, for no other reason than being busy. He wasn’t very familiar with Zhào Míngzhuó’s friends, only showing up occasionally to act as a designated driver when the other man was drunk.
If Zhào Míngzhuó hadn’t driven to the party, he wouldn’t have called Wēn Sòng over. But today—
Zhào Míngzhuó pulled a cigarette box from his pocket, took one out, and bit it. Then he fumbled for his lighter, shielding the fine wind with his hand. He tilted his head, and with a click, the flame kissed the tip of the cigarette, lighting it.
He toyed with the silver metal lighter between his fingers, exhaled a perfect smoke ring, and said, “Let’s grab a taxi.”
Wēn Sòng’s brow furrowed slightly.
He realized he had been called out here for nothing, a wasted trip.
Seeing Wēn Sòng offer no response, Zhào Míngzhuó added, “Sorry, Xiǎo Sòng. I just remembered I didn’t drive today.”
Since Zhào Míngzhuó proactively explained, Wēn Sòng naturally wouldn’t dwell on the slight unpleasantness caused by dropping his unfinished work to rush over, only to find it was for naught.
Maintaining his composure, he nodded and said, “It’s fine. I’ll take a taxi back myself.”
Strictly speaking, their relationship was based on a transaction.
There was no need for one person to coddle the other.
Just then, the elevator behind them chimed “Ding—,” an electronic sound accompanied by the rain, footsteps echoing in the quiet, spacious environment, and a Sense of Oppression unique to Alpha Pheromones mixed with the hot, humid air.
Before Wēn Sòng could look back, he heard Zhào Míngzhuó, cigarette in mouth, lazily extend a hand and greet the newcomer familiarly.
“Ā Suī, why did you come down too?”
Hearing the intimate address, Wēn Sòng turned his head, his eyes meeting Guān Suī’s.
—It was that extremely aggressive Alpha.
Guān Suī’s eyelids drooped, giving him a cold, world-weary expression. His bone structure was excellent, and his dark, deep eyes held a degree of aloof indifference when looking at people. Hearing Zhào Míngzhuó call him, he shifted his gaze from Wēn Sòng to the other man.
“Bored.”
“Going back to sleep.”
Zhào Míngzhuó nodded, staring intently at Guān Suī. “You drove here, right? I remember you didn’t drink tonight. Could you give me and my boyfriend a ride since you’re going that way?”
“It’s hard to get a taxi when it’s raining now.”
Guān Suī’s gaze moved to Wēn Sòng, who stood silently beside Zhào Míngzhuó, offering a polite nod as a greeting.
The lighting in the private room earlier had been dim, so Wēn Sòng hadn’t seen clearly. Now, he realized that Guān Suī’s facial features and bone structure were superior—he was the most strikingly handsome and aggressively imposing Alpha Wēn Sòng had ever encountered among celebrities and ordinary people.
As a Beta, he couldn’t smell the other man’s Pheromones, yet he felt a strange, inexplicable urge to go weak in the knees and kneel.
It made one instinctively want to keep their distance.
Furthermore—
Wēn Sòng was observant.
From the interaction between the two men, he noticed that Zhào Míngzhuó, usually so Reckless and lawless, displayed a subtle, unusual deference and ingratiating attitude toward Guān Suī.
Guān Suī’s identity was clearly not simple.
Even Zhào Míngzhuó, the Crown Prince of Zhengrong Group and a good friend, had to show him respect.
Wēn Sòng thought to himself that he absolutely must not provoke this Top-Tier Alpha in Suicheng in the future.
It would be best to walk the other way if he saw him.
“I can.” Guān Suī’s voice was tinged with coolness.
Zhào Míngzhuó finished his cigarette, exhaled the smoke, flicked the ash, and stubbed out the butt, tossing it into a trash can.
“Thanks, man.”
Wēn Sòng didn’t want to ride in Guān Suī’s car.
His intuition told him not to have too much contact with this Alpha.
But Zhào Míngzhuó was his boyfriend. Since the request had been made and Guān Suī had agreed, Wēn Sòng couldn’t choose to take a taxi alone and offend them.
Faced with useless social niceties, Wēn Sòng had to maintain appearances and pretend, knowing that the circle they were in was the cannibalistic high society of Suicheng.
He knew that the Wēn family was never his sanctuary.
The three walked to the underground parking garage and stopped in front of a Maybach worth seven figures.
Zhào Míngzhuó, smelling of alcohol and smoke, was banished by Guān Suī to the back seat and forbidden from sitting in the passenger seat. Wēn Sòng originally intended to join him in the back, but then—
“You sit up front.”
Wēn Sòng was momentarily stunned, not expecting Guān Suī to ask him to sit in the passenger seat.
“He’s drunk,” Guān Suī said.
Wēn Sòng: “………”
Zhào Míngzhuó probably wasn’t drunk.
Considering the unpleasant smell of alcohol and smoke on Zhào Míngzhuó, and the fact that leaving the passenger seat empty made it look like they were treating Guān Suī like a chauffeur, which was impolite, Wēn Sòng nodded and agreed, “Alright.”
It felt a little strange sitting in the passenger seat of his boyfriend’s good friend for the first time.
Mainly because Guān Suī’s presence beside him was overwhelmingly strong.
It was impossible to ignore.
The car cabin was too confined, the space not large. The Hormonal Scent unique to an Alpha lingered at his nose. Although he couldn’t smell Pheromones, Wēn Sòng instantly guessed Guān Suī’s Pheromone was “Agave.”
It held an untamable Wildness, pressing down on every nerve of those nearby.
Wēn Sòng fastened his seatbelt, keeping his body rigid, his hands clenched in his lap.
The car slowly drove out of the underground garage and merged into the main road traffic.
Guān Suī gripped the steering wheel and asked, “Where do you two live?”
Realizing that Zhào Míngzhuó in the back seat had fallen into a deep sleep the moment he got in, Wēn Sòng, as the only conscious person, lowered his eyes and said, “Just drop us off at Silver Lake Mansion—” I’ll take a taxi back myself later.
Before he could finish, Guān Suī cut in, “You live together?”
His tone sounded slightly displeased.
Wēn Sòng: “……….”
The denial on the tip of his tongue turned into a soft, floating “Mm.”
Guān Suī clearly knew they were a couple, yet he asked such a question. Wēn Sòng wasn’t conceited enough to think the other man was interested in him. The situation was too odd. He blindly guessed that Guān Suī, having just returned to the country, couldn’t help but check up on his good friend’s love life.
Wēn Sòng noticed that after he admitted it, the Alpha in the driver’s seat seemed to exude a slightly heavier atmosphere.
…What did that mean?
Without much thought, he reached a conclusion: Guān Suī didn’t like him very much.
All his emotions were practically laid bare, undisguised.
Indeed.
He was a Beta, and an Illegitimate Child at that.
Zhào Míngzhuó’s friends had never approved of their relationship, and that naturally included the newly returned Guān Suī.
Soon, the Maybach stopped in front of a private villa.
The rain had stopped outside, but the ground was damp. Wēn Sòng got out and went to the back seat to wake up the sleeping Zhào Míngzhuó.
“Huh? Are we there?” The other man groggily opened his eyes, rubbing his temples, yawning sleepily.
Wēn Sòng stepped aside. “We’re here. Get out first.”
Zhào Míngzhuó slowly leveraged himself out of the car, using the seat for support.
The two of them greeted Guān Suī, who remained in the driver’s seat without turning off the engine.
The other man glanced at them indifferently, letting out a soft “Mm” from his throat.
“I’m heading back now.”
With that, he started the car. After seeing the two step back a couple of paces, he slowly drove away.
The orange streetlights stretched Wēn Sòng and Zhào Míngzhuó’s shadows long, yet they never intersected, like unrelated parallel lines.
“I’m taking a taxi back,” Wēn Sòng said.
Before Zhào Míngzhuó could speak, his pocket suddenly rang with an incoming call.
“Wait a minute.”
Wēn Sòng waited quietly.
Zhào Míngzhuó increased the distance between them, stepping about two or three meters away before answering the phone.
Two minutes later.
“Xiǎo Sòng, stay at Silver Lake Mansion tonight for now.”
Zhào Míngzhuó said, “I have something I need to go out for. The door code is six zeros.”
Wēn Sòng considered that this location was quite a distance from where he lived, situated far from the city center. It might be difficult to find a driver willing to take a fare this late.
“Okay.”
“Then come back early.”
Zhào Míngzhuó vaguely agreed. “I’ll watch you go in first.”
Wēn Sòng didn’t waste any more time. He nodded and walked toward the villa.
Meanwhile.
The Maybach had not left Silver Lake Mansion.
Guān Suī watched the entrance gate to the community, chain-smoking, stubbing out one cigarette after another. The ashtray was full of butts.
Wēn Sòng’s image surfaced in his mind.
It overlapped with a memory.
Just as he finished the last cigarette and prepared to start the car and leave, he saw Zhào Míngzhuó, who had just been dropped off at the door, walking out of the community.
His gaze followed the other man’s steps.
Zhào Míngzhuó stopped in front of a McLaren not far away.
From Guān Suī’s angle, he happened to see the driver’s window roll down. An Omega smiled seductively at Zhào Míngzhuó. For some reason, the two engaged in a passionate, intense kiss under the streetlights, separated only by the car door—a sight that was almost indecent.
The thought that Guān Suī had been suppressing—the idea of violating morality and poaching someone’s partner—burst forth instantly.
He seemed so agitated that he couldn’t control the release of his Alpha Pheromones, flooding the entire car cabin with the rich scent of Agave.
He immediately pulled out his phone and took a photo of the couple passionately kissing in front of the McLaren.
Then, he opened WeChat, found the contact’s chat box, and sent a message.
[Investigate Zhào Míngzhuó’s private life since he started dating. Gather evidence, preferably concrete videos and photos.]
After sending the message, the McLaren sped away.
Guān Suī curled his fingers and lightly tapped the steering wheel, making a dull sound.
Excellent.
He had found a way out.